In the third section of "Of Mice and Men," after Curley leaves the bunkhouse, Lennie asks George "how long's it gonna be till we get that little place an' live on the fatta the lan'--an'rabbits? George replies,

'I don' know...We gotta get a big stake together. I know a little place we can get cheap, but they ain't givin'it away.

This place is ten acres with a windmill and a little shack and a chicken run on it. There is a kitchen, too. On the land there is a field for planting alfalfa with plenty of water "to flood it." In addition there is an orchard with cherries, apples, peaches, aprictos, nuts, and some berry bushes. When Lennie asks if there are rabbits, George says there is no place now, but he could build some hutches and they could be fed the alfalfa.

George's hand stopped working with the cards. His voice was growing warmer. 'An' we could have a few pigs. I could build a smoke house like the one gran'pa had, an' when we kill a pig we can smoke the bacon and the hams, and make sausage an' all like that. An' when the salmon run up river we could catch a hundred of 'em an' salt 'em down or smoke 'em...When the gruit come in we could can it--and tomatoes...Ever'Sunday we'd kill a chicken or a rabbit. Maybe we'd have a cow or a goat, and the cream is so...thick you got to cut it with a knife...

Here George carries the dream into his own mind and warms in his heart as he actually considers it as a possibility. Lennie eyes grow larger as he listens and old Candy watches George. He, too, is sold on the dream and offers to put in $300.00.

After some discussion, George and Lennie look at each other, amazed:

This thing they had never really believed in was coming true. George said reverently, 'Jesus Christ! I bet we could swing her.'

The dream begins to have possibility with the inclusion of another man. This passage underscores Steinbeck's theme of the fraternity of men being a necessity to man's happiness and survivial.